Subjects

Notes

Preferred Citation

[Box/folder# or item name], History of Hungary collection, Collection no. 0009, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Conditions Governing Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Abstract

Extended essays by various authors, in English or Hungarian, on the modern political history of Hungary, especially during World War II. The essays were gathered by Dr. Frank de Balogh, ca. 1965, as part of USC's "Living History" project.

Scope and Contents

Extended essays by various authors, in English or Hungarian, on the modern political history of Hungary, especially during World War II. The essays were gathered by Dr. Frank de Balogh, circa 1965, as part of USC's "Living History" project.

Some examples of studies in the Hungarian History Collection are:

Gabriel de Baross, a member of Parliament for several decades -- events witnessed by him before and during the War.
Desire de Collas, former Advisor to the minister of Finance -- several short papers of events observed by him in his official position and others related to him by participants.

A former minister in the Hungarian Reformed Church who prefers to remain anonymous for a few years - the status of the Church and its changes from 1945 to 1956.
Aurel Krause, a former manager of a 160,000 acre estate in Hungary -- a description of the development and conditions of agriculture between the two World Wars.

Joseph Lassany, former Inspector-in-Chief of a district of the Statewide Chamber of Agriculture, in charge of quality and increased production -- reform and improvement of agriculture through the State wise Chamber of Agriculture.

Jeno Szemak, former President of the Royal Hungarian Curia -- observations and opinions of the constitutional and political situation in Hungary after the War.

Frank de Balogh, former Secretary to the Royal Hungarian Minister of Finance -- first-hand accounts of the visits of the Hungarian Minister of France to Italy, and the Reichsminister for Economic Affairs to Hungary.

Conditions Governing Use

The collection contains published materials; researchers are reminded of the copyright restrictions imposed by publishers on reusing their articles and parts of books. It is the responsibility of researchers to acquire permission from publishers when reusing such materials. The copyright to unpublished materials belongs to the heirs of the writers. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Acquisition

Collected by Dr. Frank de Balogh and Dr. Robert Knutson, Special Collections Head and a Ph.D. in history (Columbia University), 1965.

History

After World War II and particularly after the Revolution in Hungary in 1956 there was a great influx of Hungarian refugees to the United States and to California. In 1961, the University of Southern California Library, realizing that this was an important source of knowledge of recent history of the nation, contacted one the of the more influential and knowledgeable Hungarians in Los Angeles, Dr. Frank de Balogh, and told him we were concerned about the vast amount of information possessed by many of the refuges who once held official government positions or who were otherwise in a position to know unpublished historical facts. Dr. de Balogh, former Secretary to the Royal Hungarian Minister of Finance, recognized the value of the idea and contacted several of his friends, and together they drew up a select list of Hungarians in Europe and the United States who were able to contribute to the writing of this history. The library wrote to some and Dr. de Balogh personally wrote and talked to others. The response was gratifying and gave us advice and direction. Dr. de Balogh accepted the task of accurately translating the papers into an English style comparable to the original Hungarian. All papers needed either translating or editing.

The project was under the direction of Dr. Robert Knustson, Special Collections head and a Ph.D. in History (Columbia University).